Former President Kim Dae-jung has expressed regret over neo-conservative politicians in the United States who compare North Korean workers at the Gaesong Industrial Complex to slaves.

In a Tuesday news conference, ruling Uri Party Chairman Chung Dong-young said he told Kim in a meeting that jobs at the complex are highly coveted in the North.

Chung also said the neo-cons in Washington seem not to want to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue for their own strategic reasons.